Smart audio system and operating method thereof

ABSTRACT

There is provided a smart audio system including multiple audio devices and a central server. The central server confirms a model of every audio device and a position thereof in an operation area in a scan mode. The central server confirms a user position or a user state to accordingly control output power of a speaker of each of the multiple audio devices in an operation mode.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/398,778 filed on, Apr. 30, 2019, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure generally relates to a smart detection system and, moreparticularly, to a smart detection system applicable to smart home thatincludes multiple sensors having identical or different sensor types.

2. Description of the Related Art

The smart home is a part of a smart city. However, in addition tocontrolling home appliances and lamps in the smart home, how todetermine a target to be controlled and a position thereof depends onthe detection of sensors. Especially when a single control center isused to control all controllable home appliances and lamps at the sametime, the method for determining the target to be controlled is anissue.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a smart detection system that identifiesan event position or predicts an event occurrence according to detectionresults of multiple sensors to perform the control on home appliancesand/or lamps.

The present disclosure further provides a smart detection system thatbuilds up an operation area using a robot and confirms a position ofevery sensor in the operation area via communication between the robotand multiple sensors.

The present disclosure provides an operating method of a smart audiosystem including at least one audio device and a host in an operationarea. The operating method includes the steps of: detecting, by thehost, existence of a first audio device by a first indicating signal,wherein the first indicating signal contains first identificationinformation of the first audio device; recognizing a first position ofthe first audio device in the operation area when the host detects thefirst indicating signal; and registering the first audio deviceaccording to the first identification information and the first positionof the first audio device in the operation area.

The present disclosure further provides a smart audio system includingmultiple audio devices, an acoustic host, multiple microphones and acentral server. The multiple audio devices are arranged at differentpositions in a room. The acoustic host is coupled to the multiple audiodevices, and configured to sequentially control each of the multipleaudio devices to generate predetermined sound. The multiple microphonesare arranged in the room to receive the predetermined sound generated bythe multiple audio devices to respectively generate audio data. Thecentral server is coupled to the multiple microphones to determine aspeaker type and a position of each of the multiple audio devicesaccording to the audio data received from the multiple microphones.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-image sensor isreferred to a sensor that does not output two-dimensional image framebut outputs an event signal for indicating an event occurrence. Forexample, a transceiver of the sensor outputs a digital value, e.g., 11or 00, to indicate the occurrence of an event, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a sensor model includessensor information such as a type, a batch number and a maker. Thecentral server confirms a protocol with a sensor based on the sensormodel thereof. For example, the protocol includes a flickering mode ofan indicator of the sensor, and the protocol is previously stored in amemory of the central server or downloaded from the network or cloud.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a position of a sensor is,for example, a space such as a living room, a bed room, a hallway, abathroom or a kitchen. The sensor position is also referred to adetection range of a sensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present disclosurewill become more apparent from the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a smart detection system according toone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a smart detection system according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of flickering modes of indicators in asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4A is a flow chart of an operating method a smart detection systemaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a flow chart of a sensor registering method applicable to asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of identifying an event position by asmart detection system according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of an event identifying method of a smartdetection system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A is an operational schematic diagram of a smart detection systemaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B is a flow chart of an event identifying method of a smartdetection system according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a smart audio system according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a smart audio system according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

It should be noted that, wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The smart detection system in the present disclosure includes at leastone sensor to detect an environment change or a user command, andincludes a host to receive a detected result from the sensor and toprovide related service. The smart detection system is applicable to theautomatic detection and control in a smart home to realize the purposesof accurately identifying an event position and predicting therequirement of a family member. In some aspects, the detected result ofthe smart detection system is sent to a second location for beingmonitored via a local network and/or a wireless network.

Please referring to FIG. 1, it is a schematic diagram of a smartdetection system 100 according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The smart detection system 100 includes multiple sensors 111to 115 respectively arranged within an operation area in differentspaces or at different positions such as a living room, a bedroom, ahallway, a bathroom, a kitchen, a balcony and a garage, but not limitedto. Each of the sensors 111 to 115 is selected from a thermal sensor, anaudio sensor, a light sensor, a motion sensor, a force sensor, anacceleration sensor (or G-sensor) and a physiological sensor, but notlimited to. Each of the sensors 111 to 115 is used to provide a detectedsignal corresponding to a type thereof, e.g., a temperature signal, asound signal, a light signal, a motion signal of an object, a pressuresignal, an acceleration signal of an object or a biomedical signal. Apart of the sensors 111 to 115 have an identical sensor type, or all ofthe sensors 111 to 115 have different sensor types.

It should be mentioned that, according to different applications, a partof the multiple sensors are arranged in a same space. For example,sensors of different types are arranged in the same space to detectdifferent events, and the different sensors in the same space haveidentical or different detection ranges. For example, sensors of anidentical type are arranged in the same space but have differentdetection ranges, detection angles or detection directions.

The smart detection system 100 also includes a robot 13 implemented as ahost of the smart detection system 100 to recognize and communicate withthe sensors 111 to 115, which are preferably not physically connectedwith the robot 13. In the embodiment, the robot 13 is capable of movingaround the operation area. In another embodiment, the host may beimplemented as a non-moving device and is used to receive informationfrom a moving robot to recognize and communicate with the sensors 111 to115. For example, in a case that the robot 13 is a host, the robot 13receives the detected signal from the sensors 111 to 115. In a case thatthe smart detection system 100 has another host instead of the robot 13,the robot 13 receives the detected signal from the sensors 111 to 115and transfers the received detected signal to the host, e.g., the robot13 is a cleaning robot, a smoke detector, a smart lamp or a flightvehicle.

In the embodiment, the smart detection system 100 further includes aninternet connecter 15 to transmit the detected signal from the sensors111 to 115 or a control signal from the robot 13 to an internet serveror an external cloud. In another embodiment, the internet connecter 15is embedded in the host.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is a block diagram of a smart detection system100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, including asensor 21 and a robot 13. The sensor 21 is used to indicate any one ofthe multiple sensors 111 to 115 in FIG. 1. The sensor 21 includes atleast an indicator 211, a transceiver 212, a detector 213 and aprocessor 214.

In some embodiments, the indicator 211 is an optical light source, adirectional speaker or other signal emitters which could emit indicatingsignal within a limited angle or range. In the present disclosure, alight source is taken as an example for illustrating the indicator 211.The light source is preferably an invisible light source, e.g., aninfrared light emitting diode or an infrared laser diode, and flickersat a predetermined pattern when being turned on.

For example referring to FIG. 3, it is a schematic diagram of flickeringmodes of indicators 211 in a smart detection system 100 according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure, wherein each vertical lineindicates lighting up the light source. For example in FIG. 3, a firstlight source of sensor model I flickers in a first mode, a second lightsource of sensor model II flickers in a second mode, a third lightsource of sensor model III flickers in a third mode. The light source ofone sensor model has one emission pattern indicated by a flickering modeand is different from the emission pattern of other sensor models. Theflickering mode of the light source indicates a model of the sensor 21including one or more information of a sensor type, a batch number, amaker, the emission pattern and so on, referred as sensor informationherein. It should be mentioned that the emission pattern of the presentdisclosure is formed by a single light source or by multiple lightsources, and the emission pattern includes one or more features of anemission frequency, an intensity variation, a phase variation, a layoutof multiple light sources.

The flickering mode of the light source of every sensor 21 has aprotocol with a central server (e.g., the host/robot) for the centralserver distinguishing different sensors 21 as described below, and theflickering mode is referred as identification information herein.

The transceiver 212 is, for example, a RF transceiver, a Bluetoothtransceiver, a Zigbee transceiver or the like. The transceiver 212 sendswireless data containing sensor information of the corresponding sensor111 to 115.

The detector 213 is used to detect an environment change and generate adetected signal respectively. The environment change is determinedaccording to a sensor type, such as detecting the change of temperature,sound and light, the motion of an object, the pressure, the accelerationof an object, the physiological characteristics of a living body and soon. The detected signal of the detector 213 is sent to the processor 214for post-processing.

The processor 214 is a digital signal processor (DSP), microcontroller(MCU), graphical processing unit (GPU), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or a central processing unit (CPU). Theprocessor 214 is electrically connected to the indicator 211, thetransceiver 212 and the detector 213. The processor 214 is used tocontrol the indicator 211 to emit light with a predetermined pattern,and controls the transceiver 212 to further send a detected signal tothe robot 13. The detected signal may indicate an event occurrence, forexample, a detected temperature being larger than a temperaturethreshold, a detected sound being larger than a sound threshold, adetected light intensity being larger than an intensity threshold, adetected object motion being larger than a variation threshold, adetected force being larger than a force threshold or a detectedacceleration being larger than an acceleration threshold, a detectedphysiological characteristic exceeding a predetermined threshold,wherein every threshold is stored in the corresponding sensor 21.

In one non-limiting embodiment, the detected signal directly containsthe detected value generated by the detector 213. In anothernon-limiting embodiment, the processor 214 processes the detected valueat first to identify whether the detected value indicates an eventoccurrence, and generate a detected signal (e.g., at least one data bit)to indicate the event occurrence.

The robot 13 includes an image sensor 131, a transceiver 132, a memory133 and a processor 134. In some embodiments, the robot 13 furtherincludes an auxiliary image sensor 135 as a monitoring device. Forexample, the image sensor 131 senses invisible light; and the auxiliaryimage sensor 135 senses visible light such as a color image sensor. Therobot 13 moves in an operation area constructed thereby including aliving room, a bedroom, a hallway, a bathroom, a kitchen, a balcony anda garage to perform the sensor scanning and environment monitoring. Therobot 13 constructs a map of the operation area by recording movingpaths thereof, by acquiring and recording 2D or 3D images of every spaceusing an image sensor (e.g., 131 or another image sensor), by usingsound wave (in this case the robot 13 further including a sounddetector) or radio wave (in this case the robot 13 further including anecho detector), or by using other conventional way to construct aworking map without particular limitations.

It is appreciated that when the indicator 211 is a directional speaker,the image sensor 131 is replaced by a directional microphone. When theindicator 211 is other signal emitters, the image sensor 131 is replacedby a corresponding signal receiver.

The image sensor 131 is, for example, a CCD image sensor, a CMOS imagesensor or the like. In this embodiment, the image sensor 131 operates intwo ways. One operation is to acquire multiple image frames of theemission pattern of the indicator 211 (e.g., referring to FIG. 3) ofeach sensor 21, e.g., the image acquiring preferably synchronizing withthe light emission. In order to be able to synchronize with multipleemission patterns, the image acquiring frequency is larger than anemission frequency of each emission pattern. The image sensor 131 itselfhas a digital signal processor to directly identify whether theflickering mode (e.g., identification information) matches apredetermined emission pattern (e.g., known from the protocol), and anidentified result (e.g., Yes or No indicated by at least one bit data)is sent to the processor 134.

Another operation of the image sensor 131 is to send acquired imageframes to the processor 134 for the post-processing. The post-processingis to, for example, identify whether a sensor message associated withthe flickering mode matches (e.g., having identical coding) the sensorinformation contained in the wireless data sent by the transceiver 212of the sensor 21 to perform the sensor confirmation. Or, the imageframes are sent to the internet or external cloud via the internetconnector 15.

The transceiver 132 is used to communicate with the transceiver 212 ofevery sensor 21 via a predetermined protocol, i.e. the transceivers 212and 132 have an identical type to communicate with each other. Thetransceiver 132 sends a request to the transceiver 212 of each sensor 21and receives a wireless data, e.g., ACK and sensor information, fromevery transceiver 212, i.e., the robot 13 configured as a master and thesensor 21 configured as a slave.

In another embodiment, the robot 13 is configured as a slave and thesensor 21 configured as a master to perform the communicationtherebetween. In such embodiment, the transceiver 212 sends a request tothe transceiver 132, wherein the request could include the sensorinformation of the sensor 21. So that the robot 13 compares the sensorinformation from the request with the identification information fromthe captured indicating signal of the indicator 211 to identify andregister the sensor 21 embedded with the above transceiver 212.

The memory 133 includes a volatile memory and/or non-volatile memorythat store an algorithm for identifying the event position, variousthresholds and parameters. The algorithm is implemented by softwareand/or hardware codes.

Please referring to FIG. 4A, it is a flow chart of an operating methodof a smart detection system 100 according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the method including: entering a scan mode (StepS31); identifying and confirming a sensor (Step S33); entering anoperation mode (Step S35); receiving an event signal (Step S37); andmoving to an event position (Step S39).

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4A together, one example of the operating methodis illustrated hereinafter.

Step S31: The smart detection system 100 enters a scan mode by thecontrolling of a user (via a physical button, a touch panel, a voicecontrol or a remote control), or automatically enters everypredetermined time interval, e.g., once a day. The smart detectionsystem 100 also automatically enters the scan mode when receivingwireless data, via the transceiver 132, of an unknown sensor (not beingrecorded). In the scan mode, said wireless data contains the pairingrequest such as the ACK and sensor information. In the operation modedescribed below, said wireless data contains the detected signal andcall signal.

Step S33: After entering the scan mode, the robot 13 starts to constructan operation area (if already constructed, then omitted), and an exampleof constructing a coverage map has been illustrated above and thusdetails thereof are not repeated again. Meanwhile, the robot 13 confirmsevery sensor position in a first scanning (no sensor been recorded).During other scanning after the first scanning, the robot 13 confirmsonly new sensor(s). In some non-limiting embodiments, the robot 13further gives an assigned number to each confirmed sensor. The robot 13confirms every sensor position during building up the operation area, orthe operation area is built up at first and then the sensor position isconfirmed sequentially, e.g., based on the scanned 2D or 3D images ofbackground environment close to and/or behind the sensor to beconfirmed.

After the operation area is constructed, for example, the robot 13 movesto a position close to or near a first sensor (e.g., sensor 114 in FIG.1), and confirms a first position (e.g., living room in FIG. 1) in theoperation area and, in some cases, assigns a first number, e.g.,assigned number 1 (i.e. firstly been recorded), of the first sensor 114according to the first mode of the light source 211 of the first sensor114 and the first wireless data from the wireless transceiver 212 of thefirst sensor 114. The memory 133 is stored with data of the first sensor114 including a model, position, emission pattern and given number ofthe first sensor 114.

The robot 13 detects the existence of a sensor by an indicating signalthereof. For example, when the image sensor 131 detects a firstindicating signal containing the first identification information, thetransceiver 132 records the first emission pattern and sends a request.Then, the transceivers 212 of multiple sensors all receive this requestand respectively send wireless data of the associated sensor. The robot13 needs to distinguish different wireless data from different sensors.

In one embodiment, the request contains information associated with thefirst mode. The processor 214 of every sensor 21 recognizes thisinformation at first, and only the sensor 21 matches this informationsends ACK via the transceiver 212 thereof and continuous to flicker inthe first mode. The sensors not matching this information stopsflickering for a predetermined time interval. When the processor 134 ofthe robot 13 identifies that the continuously detected first indicatingsignal matches the first sensor information in the first wireless data(e.g., the ACK), a first model, a first position, an emission patternand a first number of the first sensor 114 are registered and recordedin the memory 133.

In another embodiment, the processor 134 of the robot 13 identifies atime sequence of receiving the ACK from different sensors. It is assumedthat the wireless data of the sensor 21 within a current field of viewof the image sensor 131 of the robot 13 is received at first, and theinformation that is received at first is considered as first sensorinformation.

In an alternative embodiment, the robot 13 sends another request tocause the light source of different sensors 21 to flicker at a differentpredetermined mode, and the processor 134 identifies which of themultiple sensors flickers in a way matching the correspondingpredetermined mode according to image frames captured by the imagesensor 131. It is possible that the robot 13 recognizes differentsensors in other ways based on both the flickering mode and wirelessdata of the sensors. For example, if the indicator 211 is not a lightsource, the flickering mode refers to intensity fluctuating of theindicating signal.

In an alternative embodiment, if the whole smart detection system 100including the robot 13 and multiple sensors is provided by the sameprovider, each sensor has unique identification information which isrecognizable by the robot 13. That is, as long as detecting oneidentification information contained in the indicating signal, the robot13 knows which sensor has been detected. In this case, the robot 13 onlyneeds to records the position of every sensor in the scan mode withoutfurther confirmation with each sensor by communicating wireless data.

Next, when the processor 134 identifies that there is other wirelessdata not being associated with the recorded sensor data, the robot 13continuously moves to a position close to or near a second sensor (e.g.,sensor 112 in FIG. 1) and detects the existence of a second sensor by asecond indicating signal. Similarly, when a current field of view of theimage sensor 131 appears the second mode (i.e. second identificationinformation contained in the second indicating signal), the robot 13communicates with the second sensor 112 using the above mentioned methodto cause the second transceiver 212 to send second wireless datacontaining second sensor information. The robot 13 also determines asecond position (e.g., hallway in FIG. 1) in the operation area and asecond number, in some cases, of the second sensor 112 according to thesecond indicating signal and the second wireless data. The second model,second position and second number of the second sensor 112 are recordedin the memory 133.

The second sensor 112 and the first sensor 114 have identical ordifferent sensor types. When the robot 13 confirms that all sensors inthe operation area are scanned, e.g., in the operation area noflickering mode not being detected or no received wireless data notbeing matched, the scan mode is ended and the robot 13 returns to acharge station. A position of the charge station is arranged at anyproper position in the operation area without particular limitations.

Step S35: When the scan mode is ended, an operation mode is enteredautomatically. Or, when the scan mode is ended and the robot 13 returnsto the charge station, an operation mode is entered automatically. Or,the operation mode is entered by the selection of a user. When the scanmode is ended, a working map (e.g., operation area) and positions ofevery sensor in the working map are stored in the memory 133.

Step S37: In the operation mode, when one of the multiple recordedsensors detects an event, said sensor calls the robot 13 by sensing acall signal or an event signal, wherein the method of detecting an eventhas been illustrated above. For example, when the first sensor 114detects an event, a first transceiver 212 thereof sends a first eventsignal to call the robot 13. In the operation mode, when the robot 13receives wireless data which is not been matched, the scan mode isautomatically entered again to repeat the operation in Step S33.

Step S39: After receiving the first event signal, the robot 13 leavesthe charge station and moves to a first position of the first sensor114. Because the first position has been recorded in the memory 133, therobot 13 directly moves toward the first position. When the firstposition is reached, the robot 13 turns on the auxiliary image sensor135 therein (microphone also being turned on if included) to monitor acurrent status at the first position. In one non-limiting embodiment,the robot 13 further checks the flickering mode of the first sensor 114to make sure that the first position is reached correctly. In onenon-limiting embodiment, the image frames captured by the auxiliaryimage sensor 135 of the robot 13 and sound received by the microphoneare sent to a local network or uploaded to a cloud via the internetconnector 15, or transmitted to a portable device via a wirelessnetwork.

When any sensor 21 in the operation area detects an event, the smartdetection system 100 operates as the Step S39. The sensor 21 notdetecting any event does not send a call signal or event signal. In oneembodiment, the auxiliary image sensor 135 of the moveable roble 13 isonly turned on in the operation mode when the moveable roble 13 reachesan event position.

Referring to FIG. 4B, it is a flow chart of a sensor registering methodapplied in a robot according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the method including the steps of: detecting, by a robot,indicating signal from a first sensor, wherein the indicating signalcontains first identification information of the first sensor (StepS32); recognizing a first position of the first sensor in the operationarea when the robot detects the indicating signal of the first sensor(Step S34); and registering the first sensor by recording the firstidentification information and the first position of the first sensor inthe operation area (Step S36). In this embodiment, the identificationinformation of the first sensor includes, for example, the first modementioned above and FIG. 3.

As mentioned above, the robot 13 constructs an operation area in a scanmode. In the scan mode, in addition to determining a range of theoperation area, the robot 13 further records 2D or 3D appearance orfeatures of different locations and viewing angles within the operationarea. Meanwhile, in the scan mode, when the robot 13 detects indicatingsignal generated by the indicator 211 from a first sensor (Step S32),the robot 13 recognizes a first position of the first sensor in theoperation area by comparing a current image captured by the robot 13 andthe stored 2D or 3D appearance or features of different locations withinthe operation area to determine the first position of the first sensorin the operation area (Step S34). And then, the robot 13 registers thefirst sensor by recording the first identification information and thefirst position of the first sensor in the operation area as well as, insome cases, by giving an assigned number to the first sensor (Step S36).

As mentioned above, the first sensor further sends first wireless datacontaining first sensor information to the robot 13 to allow the robot13 to identify whether sensor message (e.g., the flickering mode)indicated by the first identification information matches the firstsensor information for sensor confirmation. This is useful when a fieldof view of the robot 13 contains multiple sensors at the same time.

If the operation area includes a second sensor, the sensor registeringmethod further includes the steps of: detecting, by the robot,indicating signal from a second sensor, wherein the indicating signalcontains second identification information of the second sensor; sendingsecond wireless data containing second sensor information from thesecond sensor to the robot; recognizing a second position of the secondsensor in the operation area when the robot detects the indicatingsignal of the second sensor; and registering the second sensor byrecording the second identification information and the second positionof the second sensor in the operation area. These steps are similar tothose associated with the first sensor only the target sensor beingchanged.

As mentioned above, the first sensor and the second sensor will send anevent signal to call the robot 13 to move to an event location. Whenreceiving event signals from multiple sensors, the robot 13 identifiesan event position according to signal strengths of or a time sequence ofreceiving the multiple event signals.

When a central server, e.g., the robot 13, receives event signals fromsensors at different positions, e.g., the above first sensor 114 and thesecond sensor 112, the robot 13 identifies an event position accordingto signal strengths or amplitudes of the first event signal and thesecond event signal. Referring to FIG. 5A, if both the first sensor 114and the second sensor 112 are audio sensors, a sensor closer to an eventoccurring location can receive a larger sound, e.g., a sound of objector people falling, and the robot 13 identifies an event positionaccording to the strength or amplitudes of the sound. In this case, theevent position may not be located at a first position of the firstsensor 114 or a second position of the second sensor 112 but between thefirst position and the second position. In addition, the temperaturesensor (e.g., far infrared sensor) generates temperature signals ofdifferent strengths due to a distance from a higher temperature object,e.g., a human body.

In addition, when receiving event signals from sensors at differentpositions, e.g., the above first sensor 114 and the second sensor 112,the robot 13 determines an event position according to a time sequenceof receiving a first event signal and a second event signal. An audiosensor is also taken as an example for illustration herein. Referring toFIG. 5A, an event occurs at, for example, time to, and a sensor I closerto an event position sends an event signal at an earlier time (e.g., attime t₁), a sensor II sends an event signal at a time (e.g., at timet₂), and a sensor III farther from the event position sends an eventsignal at a later time (e.g., at time t₃). The robot 13 identifies theevent position according to the time difference. Similarly, althoughFIG. 5A shows that the event position is at the position of sensor I, itis possible that the event position is between the position of sensor Iand the position of sensor III but closer to the position of sensor I.

In some cases, a wireless signal is sent from a radio transmitter of anelectronic device located at a position having different distances fromdifferent radio receivers (i.e. one kind of sensor herein). The centralserver locates the position of the electronic device according to signalstrengths or a receiving sequence of the radio signal received bydifferent radio receivers. That is, the event in this case is referredto an electronic device sending a wireless signal, e.g., the wirelesssignal being sent when it is turned on, ends a sleep mode or controlledto send the wireless signal.

In one non-limiting embodiment, to maintain privacy in the home, theabove first sensor 114 and second sensor 112 are not image sensors. Animage sensor 135 is only arranged in the robot 13 herein. In otherwords, the image sensor 135 is used only if an abnormal event occurs towatch the status.

In a word, the smart detection system 100 of the embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes multiple sensors and a central server, e.g.,the host mentioned above. The central server is a computer device suchas a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer orsmartphone. Or, the central server is a robot as mentioned above.

A smart detection system 100 having two sensors is also taken as anexample for illustration herein. The central server is used topreviously record a first position and a second position of a firstsensor and a second sensor respectively in an operation area. The firstand second positions are set by a user manually or confirmed using theabove mentioned scan mode. When the central server is not a robot, auser holds the central server to scan (using similar method mentionedabove), or the user holds a remote controller wirelessly coupled to thecentral server to perform the scanning. The position, model and givennumber of every sensor is confirmed and stored in the scan mode. Thescan mode is ended when the user presses a predetermined button toautomatically enter an operation mode. The first sensor is used to senda first event signal when detecting an event, and the second sensor isused to send a second event signal when detecting the same event.

In the operation mode, the central server identifies an event positionin the operation area according to signal strengths of the first andsecond event signals and/or a time sequence of receiving the first andsecond event signals.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the present disclosure further provides an eventidentifying method applicable to the smart detection system according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure, including the steps of:previously recording a first position of a first sensor and a secondposition of a second sensor in an operation area (Step S51); receiving,by a central server, a first event signal from the first sensor and asecond event signal from the second sensor, wherein the first eventsignal and the second event signal are triggered by a same event (StepS53); and comparing the first event signal and the second event signalto identify a position of said same event in the operation area (StepS55).

As mentioned above, the first position and the second position arerecorded in a scan mode based on an image frame captured by the robotand/or wireless data communicating between the robot and sensors.

As mentioned above, the first sensor and the second sensor are audiosensors, thermal sensors or radio receivers according to differentapplications.

As mentioned above, the central server is arranged to identify theposition of said same event in the operation area by comparing signalstrengths and/or a time sequence of receiving the first event signal andthe second event signal.

In one non-limiting embodiment, the smart detection system 100 alsoincludes a first image sensor (e.g., color sensor) arranged at the firstposition of the first sensor and a second image sensor (e.g., colorsensor) arranged at the second position of the second sensor, i.e. animage sensor and a non-image sensor, e.g., a thermal sensor, an audiosensor, a light sensor, a motion sensor, a physiological sensor or anacceleration sensor, being arranged at a same position. As mentionedabove, to protect the privacy, the first image sensor and the secondimage sensor are turned off before the event position is identified. Theimage sensor associated with an event position is turned on only whenthe central server identifies the event position of an event occurringin the operation area, and the image sensor at other position(s) is notturned on. That is, the event identifying method of the presentdisclosure further includes a step: turning on an image sensor arrangedat the position of said same event after the central server identifiesthe position of said same event in the operation area.

If the central server is a robot 13 and when an event position of anevent (e.g., same event detected by different sensors at differentpositions) in the operation area is identified, the robot 13 then movesto the event position and turns on the image sensor 131 thereof.

Referring to FIG. 6A, it is an operational schematic diagram of a smartdetection system 600 according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The smart detection system 600 also includes multiplesensors arranged in different spaces or at different positions as shownin FIG. 1. Each of the multiple sensors is used to send an event signalwhen detecting an event (not limited to the same event), wherein themethod of detecting the event has been illustrated above, and thusdetails thereof are not repeated herein. Each of the multiple sensors isselected from a thermal sensor, an audio sensor, a light sensor, amotion sensor, a force sensor, an acceleration sensor, an image sensor,a physiological sensor, a current sensor or a voltage sensor.

The smart detection system 600 further includes a central server that iswired or wirelessly coupled to each of the multiple sensors to receive adetected signal therefrom and home appliances to be controlled. Thecentral server of this embodiment is also a computer device includingdesktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer or asmartphone. The home appliances to be controlled include various lampsand electronic devices in which a current sensor or a voltage sensor isembedded. As long as a home appliance is turned on or turned off, thesensor therein sends an event signal (i.e. the event in this embodimentfurther including on/off of home appliances) to the central server. Thehome appliance to be controlled is referred to any lamp or electronicdevice controllable by the smart detection system 600.

The central server includes a learning engine 61, a memory 62 and acontroller 63, and the operation of the central server is implemented bysoftware and/or hardware.

The learning engine 61 uses, for example, data network structure such asa neural network learning algorithm or a deep learning algorithm tolearn, in a learning stage, an operation pattern of a user according toa time interval and a time sequence of multiple event signals sent bythe multiple sensors. In one embodiment, the event signal not within thetime interval, e.g., based on a system clock of the smart detectionsystem 600, is not selected as the machine learning material, but notlimited thereto.

The learning of the learning engine 61 determines a learning model andthe learning parameter to be recorded in the memory 62. The learningstage is entered or ended by a user.

For example referring to FIG. 6A, in the learning stage, the learningengine 61 receives an event signal 1 at time T₁, an event signal 2 attime T₂, an event signal 3 at time T₃ and so on within a time interval,wherein the event signals 1 to 3 are sent respectively by differentsensors and the event signals 1-3 are triggered by different events. Thetime interval is one time period of one day. For example, during 6 to 7o'clock in the morning, the learning engine 61 sequentially receivesevent signals of turning on bedroom light (e.g., the sensor 111 in FIG.1 sending an event signal 1), turning on hallway light (e.g., the sensor112 in FIG. 1 sending an event signal 2) and turning on a coffee machine(e.g., a sensor in the coffee machine or an image sensor 115 in FIG. 1sending an event signal 3). The learning engine 61 stores the learningparameter and learning model generated by learning these successiveevents into the memory 62.

The memory 62 includes a volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory forstoring the data network structure, learning parameter, learning modeland other parameters required in the system operation. When the learningparameter and learning model are stored, the learning stage is ended.

In the operation stage, the controller 63 compares a current timeinterval and a current time sequence of multiple current event signalswith the stored operation pattern to turn on/off the home appliances tobe controlled. The controller 63 is, for example, a microcontroller or acentral processing unit. When sequentially detecting, within a timeinterval between 6 and 7 o'clock every day morning (i.e. the currenttime interval), the bedroom light being turned on (e.g., the sensor 111in FIG. 1 sending a current event signal 1) and the hallway light beingturned on (e.g., the sensor 112 in FIG. 1 sending a current event signal2), then the controller 63 automatically turns on or warms up the coffeemachine such that the user can spend much fewer time on waiting forcooking coffee. In one non-limiting embodiment, if the user does not usethe coffee machine or the sensor 115 does not detect the user enteringthe kitchen after the coffee machine is turned on or warmed up for apredetermined interval, the controller 63 further automatically turnsoff the coffee machine to save power and extend the service lifethereof.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the present disclosure further provides an eventidentifying method applicable to the smart detection system according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the method including thesteps of:

receiving, by a central server, a first event signal from a first sensorand a second event signal from a second sensor (Step S61); andidentifying, by the central server, a specific event when a sequence ofreceiving the first event signal and the second event signal matches apredetermined operation pattern (Step S63).

As mentioned above, the predetermined operation pattern is determined,in a learning stage, by using a learning engine 61 to learn an operationpattern of a user. And in an operation stage, a specific event isidentified, preferably within a predetermined time interval of a daysuch as in the morning, in the evening or at night, when a current timesequence of receiving the first event signal and the second event signalmatches the predetermined operation pattern.

In this aspect, after the specific event is identified, at least onehome appliance to be controlled is automatically turned on or turned offby the central server. Using the central server to predict the futureoperation of a user based on the machine-learned operation pattern, itis able to realize smart home life. In some aspects, multiple homeappliances are turned on/off simultaneously or sequentially (e.g., basedon the operation learned in the learning stage) according to a sequenceof multiple event signals received by the central server.

It is appreciated that a number of times of learning in the learningstage and a sequence of event signals are not limited to those given inthe present disclosure but determined according to the actual user'sbehavior. The central server learns multiple operation patterns withinmultiple time intervals of one day (controlled by the user) to performthe smart control on home appliances.

It should be mentioned that examples in the above embodiment such as anumber of sensors, flickering patterns, time differences, signalstrengths are only intended to illustrate but not to limit the presentdisclosure. The payload of the packet of the wireless data contains atleast the bit for indicating the event occurrence and the bit forindicating the sensor information so as to indicate the event beingdetected by a specific sensor.

In one embodiment, the sensors 111-115 in FIG. 1 are replaced byspeakers, e.g., included in audio devices 111′-114′ (arranged atdifferent positions from FIG. 1) shown in FIG. 7 to form a smart audiosystem 700. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a smart audio system 700according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. It is appreciatedthat positions of the audio devices 111′-114′ shown in FIG. 7 are onlyintended to illustrate but not to limit the present disclosure. Besides,the robot 13 shown in FIG. 1 is replaced by a central server 13′, whichis the robot or host as mentioned above. More specifically, in thisembodiment, the operation of the central server 13′ is not changed fromthe above robot/host only the identified target is changed from theabove sensors 111-115 to audio devices 111′-114′. It is appreciated thatsince the target is changed to speakers, the transmitted wireless datais also changed to be associated with parameters of a speaker. Below arebrief descriptions of the scan mode and operation mode of the smartaudio system 700.

For example, FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a smart audio system 700according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, including anaudio device 71 and a central server 13′. The audio device 71 is used toindicate any one of the audio devices 111′-114′ in FIG. 7. The audiodevice 71 includes an indicator 711, a transceiver 712, a speaker 713and a processor 714. The operations of the indicator 711, thetransceiver 712 and the processor 714 are similar to those pf theindicator 211, the transceiver 212 and the processor 214 only theprocessed data content is changed to be associated with the parameter(s)of speaker 713.

Similar to FIG. 4A, an operating method of the smart audio system 700according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: enteringa scan mode; and identifying and confirming an audio device.

The smart audio system 700 enters the scan mode by the controlling of auser (via a physical button, a touch panel, a voice control or a remotecontrol), or automatically enters the scan mode every predetermined timeinterval, e.g., once a day, or enters the scan mode every time the smartaudio system 700 being powered on. The smart audio system 700 alsoautomatically enters the scan mode when receiving wireless data, via thetransceiver 132, of an unknown audio device (not being recorded). In thescan mode, said wireless data contains the pairing request such as theACK and audio device information.

After entering the scan mode, the central server 13′ (taking a robot asan example for illustration purposes) starts to construct an operationarea (if already constructed, then omitted) as illustrated above.Meanwhile, the central server 13′ confirms every audio device positionin a first scanning (no audio device been recorded). During otherscanning after the first scanning, the central server 13′ confirms onlynew audio device(s). In some non-limiting embodiments, the centralserver 13′ further gives an assigned number to each confirmed audiodevice. The central server 13′ confirms every audio device positionduring building up the operation area, or the operation area is built upat first and then the audio device position is confirmed sequentially,e.g., based on the scanned 2D or 3D images of background environmentclose to and/or behind the audio device to be confirmed.

After the operation area is constructed, for example, the central server13′ moves to a position close to or near a first audio device (e.g.,audio device 114′ in FIG. 7), and confirms a first position (e.g., lowerleft corner in FIG. 7) in the operation area and, in some cases, assignsa first number, e.g., assigned number 1 (i.e. firstly been recorded), ofthe first audio device 114′ according to the first mode of the indicator711 (e.g., referring to FIG. 3) of the first audio device 114′ and thefirst wireless data from the wireless transceiver 712 of the first audiodevice 114′. The memory 133 is stored with data of the first audiodevice 114′ including a model (e.g., speaker type including inputresistor, output power, frequency parameter or the like), position,emission pattern and given number of the first audio device 114′.

The central server 13′ detects the existence of an audio device by anindicating signal thereof. For example, when the image sensor 131detects a first indicating signal containing the first identificationinformation, the transceiver 132 records the first emission pattern andsends a request. Then, the transceivers 712 of multiple audio devicesall receive this request and respectively send wireless data of theassociated audio device. The central server 13′ needs to distinguishdifferent wireless data from different audio devices.

In one embodiment, the request contains information associated with thefirst mode. The processor 714 of every audio device 71 recognizes thisinformation at first, and only the audio device 71 matches thisinformation sends ACK via the transceiver 712 thereof and continuous toflicker in the first mode. The audio devices not matching thisinformation stops flickering for a predetermined time interval. When theprocessor 134 of the central server 13′ identifies that the continuouslydetected first indicating signal matches the first audio deviceinformation in the first wireless data (e.g., the ACK), a first model, afirst position, an emission pattern and a first number of the firstaudio device 114′ are registered and recorded in the memory 133.

In another embodiment, the processor 134 of the central server 13′identifies a time sequence of receiving the ACK from different audiodevices. It is assumed that the wireless data of the audio device 71within a current field of view of the image sensor 131 of the centralserver 13′ is received at first, and the information that is received atfirst is considered as first audio device information.

In an alternative embodiment, the central server 13′ sends anotherrequest to cause the light source of different audio devices 71 toflicker at a different predetermined mode, and the processor 134identifies which of the multiple audio devices flickers in a waymatching the corresponding predetermined mode according to image framescaptured by the image sensor 131. It is possible that the central server13′ recognizes different audio devices in other ways based on both theflickering mode and wireless data of the audio devices. For example, ifthe indicator 711 is not a light source, the flickering mode refers tointensity fluctuating of the indicating signal.

In an alternative embodiment, if the whole smart audio system 700including the central server 13′ and multiple audio devices is providedby the same provider, each audio device has unique identificationinformation which is recognizable by the central server 13′. That is, aslong as detecting one identification information contained in theindicating signal, the central server 13′ knows which audio device hasbeen detected. In this case, the central server 13′ only needs torecords the position of every audio device in the scan mode withoutfurther confirmation with each audio device by communicating wirelessdata.

Next, when the processor 134 identifies that there is other wirelessdata not being associated with the recorded audio device data, thecentral server 13′ continuously moves to a position close to or near asecond audio device (e.g., audio device 112′ in FIG. 7) and detects theexistence of a second audio device by a second indicating signal.Similarly, when a current field of view of the image sensor 131 appearsthe second mode (i.e. second identification information contained in thesecond indicating signal), the central server 13′ communicates with thesecond audio device 112′ using the above mentioned method to cause thesecond transceiver 712 to send second wireless data containing secondaudio device information. The central server 13′ also determines asecond position (e.g., upper left corner in FIG. 7) in the operationarea and a second number, in some cases, of the second audio device 112′according to the second indicating signal and the second wireless data.The second model, second position and second number of the second audiodevice 112′ are recorded in the memory 133.

The second audio device 112′ and the first audio device 114′ haveidentical or different speaker types. When the central server 13′confirms that all audio devices in the operation area are scanned, e.g.,in the operation area no flickering mode not being detected or noreceived wireless data not being matched, the scan mode is ended and thecentral server 13′ returns to a charge station. A position of the chargestation is arranged at any proper position in the operation area withoutparticular limitations.

In the case that the central server 13′ is a non-moving device (e.g.,attaching on the ceiling, but not limited to), the FOV of the centralserver 13′ covers all audio devices, e.g., 111′-114′ need to beregistered and recorded, and the central server 13′ registers andrecords every audio devices using the above method only the centralserver 13′ not moving from one position to another.

Similarly, the first audio device 114′ further sends first wireless datacontaining first audio device information to the central server 13′ toallow the central server 13′ to identify whether audio device message(e.g., the flickering mode) indicated by the first identificationinformation matches the first audio device information for audio deviceconfirmation. This is useful when a field of view of the central server13′ contains multiple audio devices at the same time.

After the central server 13′ finishes the registering and recordingaudio devices, the central server 13′ communicates with an acoustic host73, which is coupled to all the audio devices for controlling theoperation thereof, to send the recorded positions of every audio devicein the operation area thereto. The acoustic host 73 confirms whether allthe audio devices are respectively disposed at a predetermined suitableposition (including specific speaker type at a specific predeterminedposition) to ensure the playing performance of the smart audio system700. If anyone of the audio devices is not arranged or does not match ata suitable predetermined position, the acoustic host 73 gives a messageor instruction, e.g., by words or pictures on a display or by soundsfrom at least one of the audio devices, to indicate the adjustment ofthe audio device position(s). In some aspects, if all the audio devicesare arranged properly, the acoustic host 73 further gives anothermessage indicating perfect setup. In one embodiment, the acoustic host73 and the central server 13′ form one host (e.g., the acoustic host 73embedded in the central server 13′ or vice versa) to control theoperation of the smart audio system 700.

After the setup is accomplished, the acoustic host 73 (already knowingrespective position of every audio device) controls the output power(e.g., for adjusting the stereophonic balance, but not limited to) ofevery audio device according to the user position. The output parameterthat is adjustable according to the user position is previouslydetermined and recorded in the acoustic host 73 (e.g., in memorythereof).

In one aspect, to detect the user position, each of the audio devices(or including the acoustic host 73 in some aspects) further includes anIR sensor or a motion sensor, and the smart audio system 700 includes aremote controller (or the host itself) further having an infrared lightsource emitting at a predetermined pattern. When a user holds the remotecontroller, the IR sensor of at least a part of the audio devices, e.g.,111′-114′ detects and recognizes the predetermined pattern, and thentransmits image frames to the acoustic host 73. The processor (e.g.,DSP, MCU, CPU or the like) of the acoustic host 73 calculates a positionof the user in the operation area based on the respective position ofimages of the detected infrared light source in the image framesreceived from the audio devices. The method of calculating a position ina space according to multiple image frames captured from differentviewing angles is known to the art, e.g., calculated by triangulation,and thus details thereof are not described. For example, the field ofview of the IR sensor of every audio device have no overlapping or onlyhave a little overlapping such that the acoustic host 73 determines theuser position according to the image frame(s) that contains the image ofthe predetermined pattern.

In another aspect, to detect the user position, each of the audiodevices (or including the acoustic host 73 in some aspects) furtherincludes a far infrared (FIR) sensor or thermal sensor. The FIR sensoror thermal sensor of at least a part of the audio devices detects andrecognizes a user, and then transmits thermal image to the acoustic host73. The processor of the acoustic host 73 calculates a position of theuser in the operation area based on the respective position of the userin the thermal images received from the audio devices. The method ofcalculating a position in a space according to multiple thermal imagescaptured from different viewing angles is known to the art, and thusdetails thereof are not described. For example, the field of view ofevery FIR sensor or thermal sensor of every audio device have nooverlapping or only have a little overlapping such that the acoustichost 73 determines the user position according to the thermal image(s)that contains a user image.

In some aspects, the acoustic host 73 further identifies a user identity(or user ID in brief) to determine whether to prohibit playingpredetermined audio content corresponding to the identified user ID. Forexample, at least one of the audio devices and the acoustic host 73 hasa camera for capturing a face image of a user. The acoustic host 73 isembedded with a face recognition algorithm to recognize the user IDaccording to the captured face image. The prohibited audio content ispreviously set by operating the acoustic host 73. For example, if theacoustic host 73 identifies that the user ID includes a baby, theacoustic host 73 is prohibited playing noisy music, but not limited to.

In some aspects, the acoustic host 73 further identifies a user ID or auser state to determine whether to control one of the audio devices,e.g., 111′-114′ to stop playing any sound according to the identifieduser ID or user state. For example, the first audio device 114′ and thesecond audio device 112′ are arranged in different rooms, and if theacoustic host 73 identifies the user ID of a baby or a user is sleeping(using sleeping detection algorithm) in the room of the first audiodevice 114′, the acoustic host 73 controls the first audio device 114′stop generating sound but controls the second audio device 112′ tocontinuously play the appointed music or audio content.

In another aspect, the acoustic host 73 further identifies a user ID ora user state to play appointed music. For example, if the acoustic host73 identifies the user ID of a baby or a user is sleeping, the acoustichost 73 controls the audio devices, e.g., 111′-114′ to play light music.

Other undescribed operations of the smart audio system 700 are similarto those in the smart detection system 100 mentioned above.

In an alternative embodiment, the central server 13′ identifies aspeaker type of every audio device 111′-114′, a user position, a user IDand a user state according to audio data generated by multiplemicrophones, e.g., 721-724 shown in FIG. 7. For example, the smart audiosystem 700 includes multiple audio devices 71, an acoustic host 73,multiple microphones 721-724 and a central server 13′, e.g., themultiple audio devices 71 and the acoustic host 73 form an audio system,and the microphones 721-724 and the central server 13′ form a registerand control system. More specifically, this alternative embodimentfurther includes multiple microphones 721-724, and the audio devices 71,the acoustic host 73 and the central server 13′ are similar to the aboveembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the multiple audio devices 111′-114′ are arranged atdifferent positions in a room, but not limited to those positions shownin FIG. 7. The acoustic host 73 is coupled to the multiple audio devices111′-114′ in a wired or wireless manner. In a scan mode, the acoustichost 73 sequentially controls each of the multiple audio devices111′-114′ (already powered on) to generate predetermined sound. Forexample, the acoustic host 73 controls the audio devices 111′ togenerate the predetermined sound for a first time interval, and thencontrols the audio devices 112′ to generate the predetermined sound fora second time interval, and then controls the audio devices 113′ togenerate the predetermined sound for a third time interval, and thencontrols the audio devices 114′ to generate the predetermined sound fora fourth time interval. The predetermined sound is preferably set topresent clearly the frequency parameter of every audio device, e.g.,woofer or tweeter, but not limited to.

The multiple microphones 721-724 are arranged in the room to receive thepredetermined sound generated by the multiple audio devices 111′-114′ torespectively generate audio data. In one aspect, each of the multipleaudio devices 111′-114′ is arranged adjacent to one of the multiplemicrophones 721-724, as shown in FIG. 7, such that when one audio devicegenerates the predetermined sound, the microphone adjacent thereto canreceive the largest sound. In one embodiment, the positions of themicrophones 721-724 are also registered and recorded using the samemethod as recording the sensor or audio device as mentioned above, i.e.,the sensor 21 or the audio device 71 is replaced by a microphone whichalso includes a transceiver, an indicator and a processor.

In another aspect, the multiple microphones 721-724 are directionalmicrophones and respectively directed toward the multiple audio devices111′-114′, e.g., not necessary adjacent thereto. For example, themicrophone 721 is directed toward the audio device 111′ to have thehighest sensitive to the sound generated by the audio device 111′. Themicrophone 722 is directed toward the audio device 112′; the microphone723 is directed toward the audio device 113′; and the microphone 724 isdirected toward the audio device 114′, but not limited thereto.

The central server 13′ is coupled to the multiple microphones 721-724 ina wired or wireless manner. The central server 13′ determines a speakertype (e.g., a frequency parameter of the speaker 713 such as a woofer ora tweeter, but not limited to) and a position of each of the multipleaudio devices 111′-114′ according to the audio data received from themultiple microphones 721-724.

In the scan mode, the acoustic host 73 informs, e.g., by wireless data,the central server 13′ a current audio device that is controlled togenerate the predetermined sound. For example, when the audio device111′ is controlled to generate the predetermined sound, the acoustichost 73 informs the central server 13′ to let the central server 13′know current predetermined sound is generated from the audio device111′. Then, the central server 13′ identifies the speaker type of theaudio device 111′ by analyzing the audio data (e.g., converting theaudio data to frequency domain to obtain the frequency band, but notlimited to) generated by the microphone 721, which receives largestsound for example. The central server 13′ further marks a position ofthe audio device 111′ in the operation area being associated with themicrophone 721, whose position is already known to the central server13′. In this way, after a round of controlling different audio devicesto generate the predetermined sound and informing the central server 13′regarding the current audio device, the central server 13′ records thespeaker type and the position corresponding to every audio deviceaccording to the audio data sequentially generated by the audio devices.

That is, in the scan mode, the central server 13′ registered andrecorded the speaker type and position of every audio device in the room(e.g., operation area) to be stored in a memory thereof according to thesound generated by the audio device. In some aspects, the central server13′ further sends information containing the recorded speaker type andthe recorded position of each of the multiple audio devices to theacoustic host 73 to be stored in a memory of the acoustic host 73. Theacoustic host 73 further confirms whether all the audio devices arerespectively disposed at a predetermined position in the case that theaudio devices should be arranged at a predetermined spatial relationshipwith one another to have optimum performance. For example, a tweeter isconsidered to be arranged at a distance or height with respect to alistener different from a distance or height between a woofer and thelistener. These distances and heights are previously recorded and storedin the acoustic host 73 to be compared with the information from thecentral server 13′.

If any of the audio devices is not arranged at a predetermined suitableposition, the acoustic host 73 gives a screen message or instruction ona display (e.g., integrated with or separated from the acoustic host 73)or a sound message or instruction via the multiple audio devices thereofto inform the user to rearrange the positions of the multiple audiodevices. After the central server 13′ has recorded the speaker type andthe position of all the multiple audio devices, a scan mode or a setupstage is ended and an operation mode is entered.

In the operation mode, the multiple microphones 721-724 are turned on toreceive user's sound from a user to generate speech data (or voicedata). The central server 13′ determines a user position according tothe speech data generated by the multiple microphones 721-724. Forexample in one aspect, the central server 13′ determines the userposition according to the method mentioned in FIG. 5A. In other aspect,the central server 13′ further includes or is coupled with an IR sensor,a FIR sensor or a thermal sensor to determine the user position asmentioned above. The central server 13′ further sends informationcontaining the user position to the acoustic host 73. The acoustic host73 further controls output power of the multiple audio devices 111′-114′corresponding to the received user position to obtain a betterperformance, e.g., obtaining better stereophonic balance. For example,if the user is identified to be closer to the audio devices 112′ and113′ and farther from the audio devices 111′ and 114′, the acoustic host73 controls the audio devices 112′ and 113′ to generate a smaller soundand controls the audio devices 111′ and 114′ to generate a larger sound.

In some aspects, the central server 13′ further identifies a user IDaccording to speech data generated by the multiple microphones 721-724,e.g., according to a voiceprint or a voice command of a user. Forexample, in order to identify the user ID, the central server 13′ isembedded with an algorithm including voiceprint analyzer to analyze theuser voiceprint, or embedded with a voice assistant to recognize thewords or language (i.e., voice command) said by a user. In otheraspects, the central server 13′ has a camera for the face recognition toidentify the user ID. The central server 13′ further sends informationcontaining the user ID to the acoustic host 73. The acoustic host 73then prohibits playing predetermined audio content corresponding to theidentified user ID. For example, when a first user ID is identified, thelight music is player, and when a second user ID is identified, theclassic music is played, but not limited to. The prohibited content isset previously by the family member.

In some aspects, the central server 13′ identifies a user ID or a userstate according to the speech data or voice data generated by themultiple microphones 721-724. The user state is, for example, a sleepingstate. The method of identifying a user ID has be illustrated above. Thecentral server 13′ is able to identify, for example, the snore made by auser according to the voice data generated by the microphones. Thecentral server 13′ sends information containing the user ID or the userstate to the acoustic host 73. The acoustic host 73 controls at leastone of the multiple audio devices to stop generating sound according tothe identified user ID or the identified user state. For example, in thecase that the multiple audio devices 111′-114′ are arranged at differentrooms, and when the central server 13′ identifies a baby or a sleepingperson in the bedroom, the central server 13′ informs the acoustic host73 to control the audio device arranged in the bedroom to stopgenerating sound but controls other audio devices in other rooms tocontinuously play music.

In the present disclosure, the central server 13′ identifies a user IDand a user position using image frames, thermal images, voiceprint or avoice command based on which kind of sensors are employed by a smartsystem of the present disclosure. The central server 13′ and theacoustic host 73 have a predetermined communication protocol tocommunicate wireless data and information including the speaker type,the user position and the user ID. The connection information betweenthe central server 13′ and the acoustic host 73 is recorded and storedin a setup stage such that each time the central server 13′ and theacoustic host 73 are powered on, the connection is automaticallyconstructed to be ready to transmit the wireless data and informationtherebetween.

In other aspects, the embodiment of FIGS. 1-2 and the embodiment ofFIGS. 7-8 are combined to form a smart home. That is, a central serveris used to record and register the model and position of every sensorand speaker in an operation area, and perform corresponding controlaccording a user position, a user ID and/or a user state.

As mentioned above, various sensors are necessary in the smart home, andhow to automatically identify the sensor which is related to an event isone requirement to realize the accurate control. Accordingly, thepresent disclosure provides a smart detection system (e.g., FIGS. 2 and6A) and an operating method thereof (e.g., FIG. 4B) that accuratelyidentify an event position when an event occurs using a central serverto communicate with every sensor previously for recording its positionand model. When the central server simultaneously receives multipleevent signals associated with a same event, the event position isdetermined according to signal strengths and/or a time sequence ofreceiving the multiple event signals (e.g., FIG. 5B). In addition, thecentral server predicts to turn on/off a home appliance by learning theoperation rule of a user to realize the automatic control (e.g., FIG.6B).

Although the disclosure has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is not used to limit the disclosure. It is to beunderstood that many other possible modifications and variations can bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. An operating method of a smart audio system, thesmart audio system comprising a host and at least one audio device in anoperation area, the operating method comprising: detecting, by the host,existence of a first audio device by a first indicating signal, whereinthe first indicating signal contains first identification information ofthe first audio device; recognizing a first position of the first audiodevice in the operation area when the host detects the first indicatingsignal; and registering the first audio device according to the firstidentification information and the first position of the first audiodevice in the operation area.
 2. The operating method as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising: receiving first wireless data containingfirst audio device information from the first audio device.
 3. Theoperating method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: capturingimage frames containing the first indicating signal of the first audiodevice, wherein the first indicating signal is transmitted by an opticallight; and identifying whether audio device message indicated by thefirst identification information matches the first audio deviceinformation for audio device confirmation.
 4. The operating method asclaimed in claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the host,existence of a second audio device by a second indicating signal,wherein the second indicating signal contains second identificationinformation of the second audio device; receiving second wireless datacontaining second audio device information from the second audio device;recognizing a second position of the second audio device in theoperation area when the host detects the second indicating signal; andregistering the second audio device according to the secondidentification information and the second position of the second audiodevice in the operation area.
 5. The operating method as claimed inclaim 4, further comprising: adjusting output power of the first audiodevice and the second audio device according to a user positionidentified in the operation area.
 6. The operating method as claimed inclaim 5, wherein the user position is obtained by detecting an infraredlight source on a remote controller of the host by an IR sensor or amotion sensor of the first audio device and the second audio device,respectively.
 7. The operating method as claimed in claim 4, furthercomprising: confirming whether the first position of the registeredfirst audio device is arranged at a first predetermined position; andconfirming whether the second position of the registered second audiodevice is arranged at a second predetermined position.
 8. The operatingmethod as claimed in claim 7, further comprising: indicating anadjustment of at least one of the first position and the second positionbeing required if anyone of the first position and the second positiondoes not match the corresponding predetermined positions.
 9. Theoperating method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: identifyinga user ID to determine whether to prohibit playing predetermined audiocontent corresponding to the identified user ID.
 10. The operatingmethod as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: identifying a user IDor a user state to determine whether to control one of the first audiodevice and the second audio device to stop generating sound according tothe identified user ID or the identified user state.
 11. A smart audiosystem, comprising: multiple audio devices arranged at differentpositions in a room; an acoustic host coupled to the multiple audiodevices, and configured to sequentially control each of the multipleaudio devices to generate predetermined sound; multiple microphonesarranged in the room to receive the predetermined sound generated by themultiple audio devices to respectively generate audio data; and acentral server coupled to the multiple microphones to determine aspeaker type and a position of each of the multiple audio devicesaccording to the audio data received from the multiple microphones. 12.The smart audio system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of themultiple audio devices is arranged adjacent to one of the multiplemicrophones.
 13. The smart audio system as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe multiple microphones are directional microphones and respectivelydirected toward the multiple audio devices.
 14. The smart audio systemas claimed in claim 11, wherein the acoustic host is configured toinform, by wireless data, the central server a current audio device thatis controlled to generate the predetermined sound; and the centralserver is configured to record the speaker type and the positioncorresponding to the current audio device according to the audio data.15. The smart audio system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the speakertype comprises a frequency parameter of a speaker included in each ofthe multiple audio devices.
 16. The smart audio system as claimed inclaim 11, wherein after the central server recorded the speaker type andthe position of all the multiple audio devices, the central server isfurther configured to send information containing the recorded speakertype and the recorded position of each of the multiple audio devices tothe acoustic host; and the acoustic host is further configured toconfirm whether all the audio devices are respectively disposed at apredetermined position.
 17. The smart audio system as claimed in claim16, wherein the central server is further configured to determine a userposition according to speech data generated by the multiple microphonesbased on user's sound, and send information containing the user positionto the acoustic host; and the acoustic host is further configured tocontrol output power of the multiple audio devices corresponding to thereceived user position.
 18. The smart audio system as claimed in claim16, wherein the central server is further configured to identify a userID according to speech data generated by the multiple microphones basedon user's sound, and send information containing the user ID to theacoustic host; and the acoustic host is further configured to prohibitplaying predetermined audio content corresponding to the identified userID.
 19. The smart audio system as claimed in claim 18, wherein thecentral server is configured to recognize the user ID according to avoiceprint or a voice command of a user.
 20. The smart audio system asclaimed in claim 16, wherein the central server is further configured toidentify a user ID or a user state according to the speech datagenerated by the multiple microphones based on user's sound, and sendinformation containing the user ID or the user state to the acoustichost; and the acoustic host is further configured to control at leastone of the multiple audio devices to stop generating sound according tothe identified user ID or the identified user state.